Landscape elements as a basis for integrated water management

Water scarcity and flooding associated to climate variability and poor water use efficiency affect the liveability of our cities and their water security in the long term. As advocated by the Integrated Water Management (IWM) model, a transition towards arrangements that, besides centralized water infrastructures, also include onsite and efficient organization of water flows is required. A Landscape Elements Water Management Strategy (LEWMS) has been outlined to immediately guide the exploration of potential source control solutions for the recurrent spatial elements of a given urban landscape (roofs, gardens, parks, etc.) and the result of their reiteration at the catchment level. In the LEWMS, spatial configurations, water flow patterns and stakeholder’s arrangements generated by the spread of different decentralized options are drawn up to allow their comparison. Tested in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), the analysed macro effects of micro-scale landscape-based practices are gaining the attention of the local institutions.